CLINICAL PREDICTORS OF INEFFECTIVENESS OF INITIAL MONOTHERAPY OF EPILEPSY IN CHILDREN

Actuality. Effectiveness of epilepsy treatment in children is determined by the possibility of achieving clinical remission at initial monotherapy. The spectrum of anticonvulsants recommended for initial treatment of epilepsy in children is relatively known, but the analysis of their prescription indicates the influence of other non-pharmacologic factors on the possibility of achieving adequate control over epileptic seizures. Objective of the study: to find the frequency of achieving clinical remission in children with epilepsy while taking initial anticonvulsant and to define a combination of independent clinical factors which determine ineffectiveness of initial anticonvulsant monotherapy. Material and methods. Using the method of target selection there was performed a cohort retrospective-prospective comparative study of 447 children with epilepsy aged from birth to 17 years old. The frequency of clinical remission at initial anticonvulsant therapy was analyzed; a comparative study of clinical parameters was made within the frames of mono-factor analysis in order to find significant differences with consideration of age of epilepsy onset and effectiveness of initial treatment. Results. The study found the influence of a child’s age at epilepsy debut on achieving clinical remission at initial monotherapy: the younger the child, the lower is the possibility of its acheving, pllat